James A. Surrell, M.D.

It is a very well-established medical fact that smoking causes lung cancer. The vast majority of lung cancer is caused from cigarette smoking, also known as tobacco abuse. As you would expect, this very high risk for lung cancer increases with the number of cigarettes smoked and also greatly increases over time as a smoker continues to smoke.

Cigarette smoking is the number one risk factor for lung cancer. In the United States, cigarette smoking is linked to about 80% to 90% of lung cancer deaths. Using other tobacco products such as cigars or pipes also increases the risk for lung cancer. Be very aware that tobacco smoke has a toxic mix of more than 7,000 chemicals. Many of these chemicals in tobacco smoke are known to truly be poisons. At least 70 of these poisons are known to cause cancer.

People who smoke cigarettes are 15 to 30 times more likely to get lung cancer or die from lung cancer than people who do not smoke. Even smoking a few cigarettes a day or smoking occasionally also increases the risk of lung cancer. The more years a person smokes and the more cigarettes smoked each day, the more this risk of lung cancer goes up very substantially.

People who quit smoking have a lower risk of lung cancer than if they had continued to smoke. Quitting smoking at any age can certainly lower a person’s risk of ever getting this deadly lung cancer disease. Cigarette smoking can cause cancer almost anywhere in the body. Cigarette smoking causes cancer of the mouth and throat, esophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, liver, pancreas, voice box (larynx), lung, trachea, bronchus, kidney and renal pelvis, urinary bladder, cervix, and other cancers as well.

Smoke from other people’s cigarettes, pipes, or cigars (second hand smoke) also causes lung cancer and many other health issues as well. Second hand smoke causes over 41,000 adult deaths annually in the USA, including about 7,000 from lung cancer and about 34,000 from heart disease. Second hand smoke remains a major public health issue. In children, second hand smoke exposure is a major risk factor for respiratory infections, asthma, and other childhood illnesses as well.

Now, here’s a bit of good news. What happens if one quits smoking? The risk of developing lung cancer decreases each year following smoking cessation as normal cells grow and replace damaged cells in the lung. In former smokers, the risk of developing lung cancer continues to decline each and every year that they do not smoke.

Bottom Line – Do whatever it takes to stop smoking now! Avoid second-hand smoke! You will dramatically improve your overall health and significantly reduce your risk for lung cancer and many additional common cancers.